‘Have you ever suddenly found yourself in a different place? When you
look up, only the sky is familiar to you.’ These words were the beginning of my
graduation speech at the college, when I was in the USA . Currently I am in a
different place again, where I had once felt only the sky was familiar to me, but that has changed
recently.
My name is Sifa and I am from Istanbul, Turkey. Wind of my destiny blew
me away to the Wales for a reason. Long story short, I found my reason here at
the Asclepius Therapy Center. Right now this country is not just familiar with
only the sky, it's also familiar with Martyn Shrewsbury, who always reminds me
of my father. Finding someone or something familiar to you is such a nice
feeling, when you are thousand miles away from your homeland.
My story with the Asclepius began on a sunny Sunday morning. The beauty
of the Asclepius’s red color attracted my attention as I was taking my walk.
Since the Therapy Center was closed on Sunday, I noted down the name Martyn J.
Shrewsbury and his e-mail address. After researching the Asclepius, I wanted
gain more experience from their knowledge to widen my skills. Therefore, I sent
an email to Martyn. Martyn has returned to me with a very positive attitude. He
kindly invited me to the Philosophy and Genesis courses, which he teaches two
days a week at the Asclepius. These courses gave me a chance to examine the
Book of Genesis, Social Anthropology, and Philosophy from numerous
perspectives. Looking at the Genesis through comparative legends, myths, and
origins was very inspirational. We have discussed about creation stories, Noah
and the flood, Moses and monotheism, Isaac, Ishmael, origins of Jews and Arabs,
Yahweh and the goddesses.
Honestly, I was not really interested in philosophy until I attended to
Martyn’s course. The Philosophy course was very enjoyable and insightful. I
began to search and read more about ideas of Heidegger, Descartes,Husserl,
Nietzsche, Sartre and Camus. It was interesting to examine more closely into
the Husserl’s manifesto of vocation; subject-object and existential-theoretical
differential, natural and theoretical attitudes. We explored consciousness and
cognition in a different way. We have also learned about the history of
existentialism, which originated with the 19th century philosophers Kierkegaard
and Nietzsche. We discussed human existence, freedom, choice and nothingness.
However, learning about philosophy has changed my perspective of looking at the
things, and I have realized the relationship between Psychology and Philosophy;
they both address many of the same questions. Many topics within philosophy
make arguments about how people think, interact, and so on, all of which is in
the domain of psychology. As a student majoring in psychology, learning more
details about philosophy was very beneficial to me and to the other
participants who are from different backgrounds. Moreover, the course was very
well organized. Martyn is very good at explaining ideas, which helped me to
accept the new knowledge quickly. He has so many types of books on psychology,
philosophy, anthropology, theology, history and science at the Asclepius. His
reading passion and his books always amazes me.
My father always
reminds me that, the first word of the Qur’an that revealed to the Prophet was
“Read”. It is the first command in Islam. He always says that it is a great
honor to knowledge the first word in our religion. Therefore, it should be a
command to read and acquire knowledge. My father used to put different kinds of
books on my study table, and taught me that reading opens our mind, expands our
world view, and gives freedom to us. Just like my father, Martyn has been
recommending books to me. So Martyn’s recommendation on books made me feel
happy, and special as my father used to do.
I also want to share a related quote that my
mother always reminds me of;
“Knowledge should mean a full grasp of
knowledge:
Knowledge means to know yourself, heart and soul.
If you have failed to understand yourself,
Then all of your reading has missed its call.”
Knowledge means to know yourself, heart and soul.
If you have failed to understand yourself,
Then all of your reading has missed its call.”
written by Turkish Poet Yunus Emre.
Thus, I have realized that the knowledge
Martyn has is internalized within himself, which makes him a good
psychotherapist to be beneficial for people surrounded him. When we read to
gain knowledge, and internalize those knowledges to our lives, we can have the
power to make the world a better place to live in safely for all.
Always remember that reading; opens our eyes, makes us aware of
possibilities, and that awareness brings the change with itself into our lives.
Read, internalize, and spread the knowledge everywhere you!
Thank you Martyn for the beautiful things I’ve
learning from you.
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